International Summer School

The International Entrepreneurship course will help you understand the dynamics of entrepreneurship in an international context. You will learn how to discover, evaluate, and exploit of international venture opportunities. You will develop essential skills using various tools and frameworks during the entrepreneurial process with particular attention to applying brainstorming and simulation tools for sparking innovative ideas with the potential to address global market needs. In addition, you will learn how to set up an international business plan for the launch of a global start-up or a new international venture at an existing business.

The course will consist of lectures by academics, workshops/seminars, teamwork, pitching and presentations, individual work, and other collaborative learning activities to maximise learning outcomes.

Please note that the first week is organised as a blended intensive programme (BIP) with Erasmus+ support. Only participating institutions can nominate students.

The participants will receive detailed course program before the course starts. Please note, that all times are in Finland’s summer time (UTC +3). The beginning and ending times for International Entrepreneurship, 6 ECTS are:

Online introduction

• Wednesday, 5 August 2026 15:00–17:00
   

On-campus week in Vaasa

• Monday, 10 August 2026, starting at 10:00 to Friday, 14 August 2026, ending at 16:00
   

Online sessions

• Tuesday, 18 August 2026, 15:00–17:00 
• Tuesday, 25 August 2026, 15:00–17:00

The course begins with an introduction online before the on-campus week in Vaasa 10–14 August 
2026. Please note that the course requires full attendance on site in Vaasa for the on-campus week. 
Online attendance is not possible. The course ends with two online sessions after the week in Vaasa.  
During the onsite week, students will be participating in workshops on international business planning 
and playing a simulation game.
 

Evening activities include the annual The Night of the Arts in the City of Vaasa on 13 August.

Only participating institutions can nominate students for the first week.
Tuition: Free of charge for students from partner universities.

The selection process is managed by student's home institution, which will nominate them to this BIP 
course. Please follow instructions and guidelines from your home university. 

Participating institutions

• University of Vaasa – Host and coordinating institution
• Aarhus University – Aarhus BSS, Department of Business Development and Technology 
• Bucharest University of Economic Studies (ASE) – Faculty of Business Administration, in foreign languages (FABIZ)
• Grenoble Ecole de Management (GEM) 
• Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) – Entrepreneurship and International Business Unit, School of Business and Governance 

Course coordinator

Martin Meyer 
Vice-Rector for International Affairs 
University Services
University of Vaasa
 

Guest lecturers will be confirmed later
 

The course teaching team consists of teachers from the participating institutions, as well as visiting 
professors from leading institutions in the US.

During this course, you will learn to understand the process of entrepreneurship from identification of problems, ideation and brainstorming to evaluation. After completing the course, you can apply different approaches for brainstorming and ideation, create early business models and know how to evaluate and pitch ideas. The course will include workshops, team work and individual work.  

The participants will receive detailed course program before the course starts. The beginning and ending times for Ideation and Venture Creation, 3 ECTS will be confirmed later.
 

Number of students: Max. 35 students (partner institutions will nominate their students)
Tuition: Free of charge for students from partner universities. 

Course coordinator 

Mona Enell-Nilsson 
Research Director 
School of Marketing and Communication, Marketing
University of Vaasa

Guest lecturers will be confirmed later

 

By the end of the Start-up Scouting and Valuation course, you will have a more in-depth understanding of startups and their importance for disrupting businesses. You will be able to scout start-ups and analyse meaningful metrics that indicate successful performance and sustainable development of start-ups. You will learn how to identify and evaluate different start-ups and create rankings that can be used to predict company futures. The course supports the development of skills in the areas of analytical and critical thinking, collaboration in diverse teams and business research and analysis. 

The course activities include lectures, investor and start-up company guest-speakers, workshops, individual and group assignments such as scouting and pre-evaluation of start-up companies. 

The participants will receive detailed course program before the course starts. The beginning and ending times for Start-up Scouting and Valuation, 2 ECTS will be confirmed later.
 

Number of students: Max. 35 students (partner institutions will nominate their students)
Tuition: Free of charge for students from partner universities.

Course coordinator

Khuram Shahzad 
Assistant Professor (tenure track) 
School of Technology and Innovations, Industrial Management
University of Vaasa 

Guest lecturers will be confirmed later
 

There are many possible ways to travel to Vaasa depending on your departure location and travelling preferences. Usually the easiest way to reach Vaasa from aboard is to fly to the Helsinki airport and from there, continue with a flight to the Vaasa Airport or by train to the Vaasa train station. There are daily flights from Helsinki to Vaasa (operated by Finnair) and several daily train connections. Please visit the Finnish rail company VR’s website for more information about train connections. You can also travel from Helsinki to Vaasa by bus, for example Onnibus is an affordable option.

Remember to make sure you have all your travel documents up-to-date. If you are not a citizen of a Schengen member state, you will need a visa for your stay. The accepted students can request the invitation letter needed in the visa application from the University. Please make sure that you have all the documents for the visa application well in advance, such as your passport, travel insurance, hotel reservations, flight tickets etc. More information about the visa requirements in Finland. 

You will receive more information about the prices and possible discounts with the confirmation email. It is recommended to book your travels and accommodation as soon as you receive the confirmation.

Please note that the University of Vaasa doesn’t provide you with housing during the Summer School. If you come from a partner university abroad, please contact your local institution about the possibility to receive financial support to organise your stay at Vaasa. 

You can find hotels in Vaasa region on Visit Vaasa's website (most affordable prices at EC Hostel, GreenStar Hotel Vaasa and Omena Hotel Vaasa).

Getting to our Palosaari campus is a breeze. The University of Vaasa is a 20-minute walk from the city center (a 5-minute bike ride / electric scooter ride). You can also hop on one of the local public transportation buses.

Online journey planner for regional public transport Lifti

There is an online journey planner for the joint regional public transport network of the City of Vaasa and Municipality of Mustasaari. In the journey planner, you can check the current location of a bus and suggestions for bus lines based on your destination.

You can select your location and destination on the map, and the journey planner will suggest a suitable route and bus line. Alternatively, you can select a bus stop and see what bus lines stop there and when the buses are due to depart. You can search by typing in the place of departure and destination. The search recognises landmarks, such as schools, the public swimming pool and sports fields.

The journey planner can be used on a smartphone or a computer. The planner is available in English.

The bus stop in front of the university on Wolffintie is called Wolffintie – Yliopisto/Universitet.
The bus stop in front of Novia University of Applied Sciences is called Wolffintie 27–31/Novia.

Lifti – Public transport for the Vaasa region

Lifti journey planner